Ultimate Fall Experience: National Park Hiking & Leaf Peeping Road Trip

There really isn’t anything quite like fall. The scents, weather, sweaters, cozying up, PSLs, pretty colors and getting spooky. With a pandemic ruining our travel plans to Montreal, Canada and the U.K., Mitch and I held cooped up at home weathering “the storm.”

We did a quick trip to Holland, Michigan in June, but that was a bout it. With vacation time to use, feeling burnt out and restless, Mitch and I conjured up the idea of a long, fall road trip to celebrate our three years of marriage in early October.

We originally were set out west to explore National Parks in the Dakotas, Wyoming and Montana. As planning went underway we (read: Mitch) realized early October in these areas meant pretty cold temps, snow and possible closures. We tabled that for a later date and landed going east for a full fall foliage + National Park hiking tour.

If you’re itching to go east, had any of these National Parks on your bucket list or wanting to join the hiking and leaf peeping club, here’s the best of our fall road trip with all the planning deets!

Planning a Two-Week Road Trip

I’m a planner, as is Mitch, which is in our favor. We’re both also pretty organized and spreadsheet people. So, naturally, we have a big Google Sheet laying out all of the details! We started with the sights/stops we wanted to check out, took how many days we wanted to do, backed that into which places we wanted to spend the most time and then filled in the details.

Planning Spreadsheet – With itinerary, routes, checklists, budgets etc.
Custom Map – With all of our stops in one view.
AllTrails App – Favorited hikes that interested us.

COVID-19 Safe Travel Precautions

Obviously with a global pandemic, we made sure we were smart, safe travelers. Here’s what we did:

Got negative test results a day or two before we left
Packed two freezer bags full of fresh and frozen foods
Packed two bags of non-chilled foods
Brought along kitchen tools like pots, pans, baking sheets, knives, silverware, etc.
Made a small “pantry” box with oil, spices and seasonings, etc. to cook with
Mapped grocery stores along the way to replenish food
Packed and used sanitizing wipes, spray and tons of hand sanitizer
Wore our masks at all times when people were present
Practiced social distancing when people were present
Didn’t really check out the areas we were staying, but rather enjoyed the parks and stayed put in our Airbnbs
Reduce stops anywhere that required going indoors
Cooked our own food (ordered contactless delivery ~three times)
Two week strict self quarantine once back home (which we are currently doing!)

Net: We spent our time outdoors alone, but when there were people present, we distanced and masked (removed them for pics). When not out in nature, we were in our car or in our Airbnb.

Itinerary and Route

We wanted to see leaves and hit National Parks. So knowing the prime leaf time was key in which way we wanted to go – south to Kentucky first or east to Ohio first? Using a fall foliage tracker, understanding likely weather in the areas and mapping out driving distance between stops were key. We decided to go east, head south and then back up north to Chicago.

Once we had a big route, we needed to break up the destinations with stop overs (in Vermont and Connecticut) that would also be pretty for fall foliage leaf peeping too.

Ohio (small destination)
Vermont (stop over)
Maine (big destination)
Connecticut (stop over)
Virginia (big destination)
South Carolina (small destination)
Tennessee (big destination)
Kentucky (small destination)
Home to Chicago!

And we ended up checking six National Parks off our list!

National Park Leaf Peeping Fall Road Trip

With the planning done, we eagerly awaited for October, got a rental car, packed it up and headed out!

I think one of my favorite parts of this trip was seeing the vastness of beauty there is in this country (which is so easy to forget) and experiencing the differences between regions. Getting some real quality time with Mitch (and myself) without many distractions or the usual routine rut was a real treat for us too. Having no service when driving through the secluded highways was a blessing.

And with that, here’s a look into our epci fall road trip!

Days 1-2: Cuyahoga Valley, Ohio

Heading out of the city, we drove nearly six hours to Akron, Ohio. Along the Cuyahoga River between Cleveland and Akron lies Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It has about 100 waterfalls and a scenic railroad train that runs through it. We ended up staying near Akron in an area called Massillon, about 40 min from the park. This was the one place where we weren’t super close to a park entrance.

Neither of us were expecting much out of this park, to be honest. We were wrong. The Virginia Kendall Ledges alone were worth it. They look like crazy prehistoric rocks! The park was basically empty, great trail options and a good way to step foot into fall.

What we did and saw:

Ledges Trail
Stanford Traill
Brandywine Falls
Station Road Bridge
Towpath Trail

Days 3-4: Stowe, Vermont

From there, we ventured through upstate New York and onto Vermont. A state I never thought I’d travel to, honestly. In northern Vermont lies a cute town called Stowe. It’s overlooked by Mount Mansfield, known for its trails and ski slopes. It’s also one of the best places to go leaf peeping. You are literally surrounded by the gorgeous multicolored mountains – it’s truly insane.

This was one of the best parts of our entire trip. We would go back to Stowe and the state of Vermont instantly! The drive through New York state to get here was just as stunning, as was the drive through New Hampshire to Maine when leaving.

What we did and saw:

Leaf peeping driving tours around the area
Picked up locally made maple syrup
Explored a sugar house (where maple syrup is made)
Visited a cider mill
Drank warm beverages in the brisk air outside of a coffee shop in a barn

Days 5-7: Acadia, Maine

Now before heading to Acadia, I was the most excited for this stop. Something about being in Maine for my first time, light houses, Atlantic ocean views and mountains just sounded so magical to me. And magical it freaking was.

Acadia is on Maine’s Mount Desert Island with woodland, rocky beaches and granite peaks. It has Cadillac Mountain which is the highest point on the East Coast.

We ended up finding a place right outside the park in Bar Harbor, Maine that’s on the island. A cute, kitschy little beach town.

The views from the mountains of Acadia are jaw dropping. Endless rock and coasts. It was a little chilly, but worth it and you heat up quickly while hiking. Acadia was so beautiful and fun because there’s forest, beach and mountain scenes all in one place – pleases just about anyone! We scrambled rocks, summited a mountain, sat at the beach and drove through forests. Can’t get much better than that.

What we did and saw:

Drove up Cadillac Mountain
Ocean Beach Path Trail
Gorham Mountain Trail
Jordan Pond
Great Head Trail
Long Pond Trail
Great Notches Traill
Walked through Bar Harbor and Southwest Harbor
Bass Harbor Lighthouse
Ate lobster rolls

Day 8: Cromwell, Connecticut

Departing Acadia lead us through Portland, ME and then we continued down the eastern cities landing in Connecticut for another stop over between National Parks. Sitting in between New Haven and Hartford lies Cromwell. We ended up staying here to lower costs.

P.S. – The tolls in the Northeast are no joke. We drove through New Jersey and had to pay almost $20. So, heads up to budget more for tolls than we did.

After a lot of hiking in Acadia, we decided to take it easy here. Our amazing Airbnb host surprised us with champagne and balloons for our anniversary, so it was the obvious choice. We played board games and cheers’d to three years of marriage.

The next day, we ended up going to Yale and walking around campus. It always seems like a distant thing that you hear or see about in movies or news. Yale is real and we felt fancy. 😉 And these old buildings are just plain gorgeous to look at, especially with a fall backdrop.

Day 9-10: Shenandoah, Virginia

Continuing south, we headed for Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, which is not too far from D.C. It’s surprisingly big – just very long and very narrow. The Skyline Drive and Appalachian Trail run the entire length of the park. With over 75 scenic outlooks and the Skyline Drive, it’s really easy to drive through the park and enjoy the scenery.

We lodged in Luray, Virginia, a tiny town right outside the west side of the park. The town is also known for its caverns, which we wanted to do but didn’t (next time!).

We stayed at the Mayneview Bed & Breakfast – which I can’t recommend enough. This was our first time doing a proper B&B and it was so great! We went this route due to no available Airbnbs or VRBOs in the area and I’m glad we did. Charming, cozy, comfy, welcoming and fun. We felt very safe (per COVID) and they even accommodated us by making gluten free meals and treats.

For Shenandoah, it ended up being cold, rainy and full of fog! All of the overlooks from the road and hikes were just walls of white clouds. We just had to pretend what the beautiful landscape looked like. 😉 It was a little disappointing, but we still got to experience the leaves and scenery while driving and hiking through the park. And, of course, got in some more hiking! We decided to take on some more difficult hikes this time, and the rain added to the challenge.

What we did and saw:

Hawksbill Summit Trail
Stony Mountain via the Appalachian Trail
Drove through Skyline Drive

Day 11: Congaree, South Carolina

Migrating further south, our next stop was in South Carolina! We stayed in Columbia – the state’s capital – about 25 min from our next park.

Congaree is a tiny but mighty National Park. Here you can find the largest tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest left in North America. Some of the trees are the tallest in the eastern US and world. With an elevated boardwalk, it’s an easy way to explore this unique, and kinda spooky, swamp land.

This was another stop where I had low expectations, but again, was blown away. It was such a unique environment – one I’ve never experienced before. It was super cool to have the swap right at your feet. We didn’t see any gators, but there were plenty of bugs, spiders and mosquitos around.

The self guided tour pamphlet was actually very educational and we walked away full of swamp knowledge.

What we did and saw:

Boardwalk Loop Trail
Self Guided Tour
Weston Lake Loop Trail (was on our list but flooded while there)
Spotted the State Capitol building

Note: Due to the nature of a swamp, flooding is common, so check ahead if your trail is open.

Day 12-14: Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee

Now for our venture back up north we headed to Tennessee. The Great Smoky Mountains – the most visited National Park! It straddles the border of North Carolina and Tennessee and is part of the Appalachian Mountains. It was such a beauty!

We stayed right outside the massive park in popular stop Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Gatlinburg looked fun, but it was terrifying from a COVID stand point. Sidewalks packed with people and rarely did you see a mask on them. We strictly went to the park and back to our Airbnb and didn’t bother even walking around the area.

Aside from that, I felt like the views from the Smokies made up for the loss of views at Shenandoah. Layers of mountains with the rainbow of fall colors. Subtle hues of blue fog lingering in the distance – which is how the Smokies get their name.

There were so many hikes to choose from. We didn’t do as many or as challenging hikes as we wanted to. By the time we made it to this park, we were feeling the effects of being on the road for two weeks and having hiked a bunch already.

What we did and saw:

Peregrine Peak via Alum Cave Bluffs Trail
Clingman’s Dome drive with stops at overlooks- didn’t do the observation tower as it was too people-y and foggy
Newfound Gap
Laurel Falls Trail
Elkmont Nature Trail
Drove aimlessly through the park stopping for views

Day 15-16: Mammoth Cave, Kentucky

To round out the trip, we hit up Mammoth Cave National Park which is not too far from Nashville and Louisville. We stayed in Glasgow, Kentucky. A very small, rural town about 20 min from the park.

Mammoth Cave is the world’s longest known cave system – crazy! Although the cave is the main attraction, the park has lovely grounds to hike and explore all around as well. And it’s a good thing too because we miiiight have forgotten to buy our cave tour tickets in advance and the tours were sold out upon arrival…oops. Guess we’ll have to come back!

What we did and saw: